When he still lived in CA, he worked in construction. One day, he and a buddy/coworker of his had to go to a Lowe's type box store for some supplies.

As they were going into the store, an associate from the store noticed someone sneaking up to buddy's truck bed unlocked tool box, and told the guys about it. Buddy said not to worry about it. They walked up to associate and turned around to watch the fun unfold.

Would be thief walks along the bed of the truck, looking around. Without looking into the bed of the truck, he reaches over to the tool box. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by a very large, and not very amused Great Dane. DF tells me, the 3 of them stood there and laughed as would be thief took off running and didn't slow down all that much.

We've had various workmen in our home over the years, and I have wondered why they all brought their big dogs and left them in the truck. It never occurred to me before these stories that the dog might be a theft deterrent. I guess it's kind of good I don't think like a criminal...

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Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not. - Uncle Iroh

When he still lived in CA, he worked in construction. One day, he and a buddy/coworker of his had to go to a Lowe's type box store for some supplies.

As they were going into the store, an associate from the store noticed someone sneaking up to buddy's truck bed unlocked tool box, and told the guys about it. Buddy said not to worry about it. They walked up to associate and turned around to watch the fun unfold.

Would be thief walks along the bed of the truck, looking around. Without looking into the bed of the truck, he reaches over to the tool box. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by a very large, and not very amused Great Dane. DF tells me, the 3 of them stood there and laughed as would be thief took off running and didn't slow down all that much.

*sporfles*

One day while I was still living at home I went to the gym and looked over to see my mother parked nearby. The dogs were in the car. I reached through the open window for something- and nearly got nailed by a very startled dog, who was then panicked to think she'd almost bitten me. I reassured her that she was a GOOD DOG and I was an idiot for surprising her. All she saw was an arm- she didn't know it was me until I yelped as her fangs headed towards my wrist.

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If wisdom’s ways you wisely seek,Five things observe with care,To whom you speak,Of whom you speak,And how, and when, and where.Caroline Lake Ingalls

My friend was brought up in a very remote part of Australia. Think a 4 hour drive to the shop. It was not uncommon to come back to the ute and find 15 of the locals on the back drinking and asking to be driven back to their settlement. You just had to take them as they were not getting off and there was no way of making them.

My friend was brought up in a very remote part of Australia. Think a 4 hour drive to the shop. It was not uncommon to come back to the ute and find 15 of the locals on the back drinking and asking to be driven back to their settlement. You just had to take them as they were not getting off and there was no way of making them.

I had a SS yourcarismytrashcanasaurus years ago. I was lugging my laundry out of the laundromat, carrying ArmySon. It took several trips to load it all in the back of the station wagon (yikes I'm old if I actually owned one of those!)

SS and friends were doing some impromptu tailgating before the local college football game. The laundromat shared a parking lot with a liquor store. Upon draining his bottle of whiskey, he looked around and decided my basket of clean laundry was a great trashcan. As I was walking back to the car, I watched him calmly walk over, reach inside my vehicle and tuck the empty in with my laundry!

Cue embarrassed SS. I removed the bottle, marched up, tapped him on the shoulder and loudly announced "you must have accidentally put this in my car instead of the trash" and firmly handed it back. I could hear his friends laughing at him for the whole block

We've had various workmen in our home over the years, and I have wondered why they all brought their big dogs and left them in the truck. It never occurred to me before these stories that the dog might be a theft deterrent. I guess it's kind of good I don't think like a criminal...

In his youth, my BIL took his border collie to work with him. My sister said that she never worried about him working alone on a site, because she knew that Pearl would out-Lassie Lassie if the situation demanded it. Two other crew chiefs also took their dogs with them. My sister was in a store once and heard a customer telling her friend about having some home repairs done. The friend asked which company was doing it, and the customer replied, 'The one with the black-and-white dogs.'

Would be thief walks along the bed of the truck, looking around. Without looking into the bed of the truck, he reaches over to the tool box. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by a very large, and not very amused Great Dane. DF tells me, the 3 of them stood there and laughed as would be thief took off running and didn't slow down all that much.

Probably running home to change his pants!

No one was a SS in this story but it is in the same vein: When my parents were dating, my Dad had this big German Shepard that didn't like my Mom all that much. They were travelling somewhere and needed to stop for gas. Dad had the great idea to stop the car about a mile from the gas station and take the dog for a bit of a run. So Mom drove into the gas station and moved to the passenger seat. The attendant started filling the tank and went to look after another customer. Dad arrived, put Major in the back of the car and went to wash his hands. The attendant came back and went to wash the windshield. The dog lunged from the backseat, running his paws down the windshield. Mom hit Major in the chest and told him to get back. She wondered later why he didn't attack her.

Attendant just about had a heart attack and probably needed to change his pants.

And Mom and Dad sold that car with claw marks down the inside of the windshield.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

... The attendant came back and went to wash the windshield. The dog lunged from the backseat, running his paws down the windshield. Mom hit Major in the chest and told him to get back. She wondered later why he didn't attack her.

It sounds like the dog who 'didn't like your mother very much' was actually protecting her!

And Pearl the border collie could have been trained to fetch things for the BIL.

The young man who replaced a window in my parents' home had adopted a sheltie puppy from our last litter a year previously, and so brought said dog with him. I thought it was because he had gotten Sheltie from my parents and wanted to show them how he'd turned out, but now, in view of what I read here, he might have brought Sheltie along to watch his back on all of his jobs.

I was a lot surprised when I stopped by my house unexpectedly while some tiling work was being done (the house was completely empty, without any furnishings or possessions, while some remodeling was going on) and found that the tile installer had brought his lab-mix puppy along! He was a little sheepish about it - he'd thought we wouldn't be there at all that day. She was being kept out of the active work area, but he hadn't asked about the dog ahead of time...I didn't actually mind and gave him the go-ahead to bring her back the rest of the time he was there, but I was pretty surprised that he'd just bring the dog with him like that.

And Pearl the border collie could have been trained to fetch things for the BIL.

Pearl was one of the smartest and most protective dogs I've ever met. Right before my sister's wedding, it so happened I ended up at her parents-in-law's house, while the adults were all out running errands. As he left, my BIL's father said, 'Take care of the place, Pearl.' Every time I opened a door, Pearl was right there by my side, heeling. She hadn't met me prior to that day, but she'd learned that fast that she should protect me as a member of the family. But I would never try to go on their property if the whole family was gone. Once my sister and BIL went away for the weekend, and had a good friend who lived nearby come to feed their livestock. They locked Pearl in the garage. When they got back, the neighbor's truck was in their driveway and Pearl was out. She had heard the neighbor outside, and worked on a crack in the fiberglass garage door until she broke out a big enough hole for her to get through. She broke out, and when the neighbor came back for the next feeding, she charged him. Pearl didn't give him a chance to get back in his truck... she chased him all the way down the road, and as he ran up his own driveway, he was hollering to his wife, 'Open the door! Open the door!' He got in just in time, but he didn't dare go back to get his truck!

Someone left a bunch of fast food trash in the corner of the parking lot where I park my car. There's a Dumpster not 100 feet away and a trash can about the same distance away in a different direction. We have maintenance people that will come and pick it up, but I think that leaving the trash there was SS behavior since there were disposal receptacles so close by.

Ugh. We live across the street from a place that sells food and I can't tell you how many styrofoam cups, drink containers, and other refuse we've found in our backyard along the fence. We live right next to an alley that runs from our street to the next street up so people tend to walk along it to get to the store rather than walking around the block, which makes sense.

We are going to get a higher fence someday, hopefully that will be a good deterrent.

Make it an electric fence and you might have a chance.

Nah, that just means they'll loft their trash up and over. What she NEEDS is one of those sky high net walls that backstops have and driving ranges have... Which just means trashy people would drop the trash in the alley outside the fence line...

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Newly widowed, fairly cranky, prone to crying at the drop of a hat. Newly a MIL; not yet a Grandma. Keeper of chickens and dispenser of eggs! Owner of Lard Butt Noelle, kitteh extraordinaire!

She should have very fine (invisible) elastic netting. Then when they lob the trash up there it bounces back down and lands on their heads! Bonus if their trash contained partially used packets of ketchup or mustard!